Speak No Evil_ A Novel - Allison Brennan [52]
“It’s not very smart to piss off a lady with a gun,” he said simply.
Nick’s hardened expression belied his light words. Once again, Carina suspected there was far more beneath the surface than Nick Thomas showed the world.
“Hey, no offense!” Masterson put up his hands. “Look, what happened to Angie? I mean, I saw her on Friday, okay, but I didn’t see her all weekend. Really, I didn’t see her.”
“Do you know where Ellen lives?” Nick asked.
Masterson rattled off the address where he’d dropped her off earlier.
“Be available for questions,” Will said.
“What happened to Angie?” Masterson repeated.
Carina had no desire to give him any of the details. “Go buy a newspaper,” she said and they left.
In the car, Will said, “I don’t think he has the guts to kill anyone.”
“Huevon,” Carina said. “Too stupid to cover up the crime. Did you see anything in his apartment that looked out of place?”
“I don’t think he could find clean boxers, let alone glue.”
“How far is Big Bear?” Nick asked.
“About two, two-and-a-half-hours.”
“If his parents have a cabin up there, it would be a remote place where he could have kept Angie,” the sheriff suggested.
Carina and Will glanced at each other. “Go on.”
“He dumped the body Sunday night. Could he have dumped the body, then picked up this Ellen and taken her back there? Did anyone see him on Saturday?”
“We have a lot of work to do,” Will said. He glanced at Ellen’s address. “She’s out in Carlsbad. Up for a nice coastal drive?” he asked Nick.
“I have no other plans.”
Ellen Workman was a twenty-five-year-old college dropout who lived with her parents and worked part-time as a cocktail waitress. By the time they arrived in Carlsbad, she had already left for work. They stopped by her business and, while she was irritated at being pulled off the job, she was sharp and credible.
“Doug and I hung out from about three o’clock Sunday afternoon onward. When he suggested we go skiing, I was all for it, especially since he was paying. I work Wednesday through Saturday, so I told him I had to be back by five o’clock today. He brought me home, end of story.”
“What time did you leave for Big Bear?”
“Eleven. I wanted to pick up my stuff, so we drove here.”
Carina was confused. “You left La Jolla at eleven? I thought you said you were with him after three in the afternoon?”
She sighed heavily. “Okay, we met up at three at a friend’s house. Had a few beers. Dinner. Then he wanted to go skiing, so we left La Jolla about ten at night for my place, I packed a bag, and we left for Big Bear at eleven. Okay?”
“Did Doug leave you at any time between three and ten that day?”
“Maybe to take a piss. Look, what’s this about?”
“We’re just verifying information that he told us.”
“Whatever. Can I get back to work?”
Ellen walked away. Carina shook her head. “The time line doesn’t work for Masterson to be the killer.”
“Unless she’s an accomplice,” Nick said.
“Why would she?”
No one had an answer. Their one other lead had dried up. Masterson wasn’t guilty, and Carina looked at Nick. She saw in his eyes what she was thinking.
All eyes would now be on Steve.
With good reason. Police didn’t like it when suspects lied.
Nick knew that as well as she did.
Her heart went out to him. He was going to have a rough time of it tomorrow if his brother incriminated himself. While Carina hoped Steve gave himself up so she could close the case, find justice for Angie’s family, and stop another brutal murder, she couldn’t help but feel for Nick and what he would go through knowing his brother was a murderer.
Rope. Check.
Glue. Check.
Plastic wrap. Check.
Garbage bags. Check.
He went through the supplies in his mind as he watched the webcam he’d set up earlier that day in Jodi’s apartment.
It would be more difficult this time because he wouldn’t be able to lure Jodi out like he’d done Angie. Angie knew him well, so she hadn’t thought anything was wrong even when he tapped on her window in the middle of the night.
“Angie? Angie? Can we talk?”